France will
increase the number of its troops in Ivory Coast, Defence Minister
Jean-Yves Le Drian said Friday on a trip to the African nation which
hosts a regional base for French forces.
“This summer the French forces in Ivory Coast will increase from 500
to 900 men and form the forward operating base for west Africa,” he said
while visiting French forces in the Ivorian capital.
The increase was already included in the military budget but comes at
a time of growing regional terror threats, especially after an Islamist
attack on the beach resort of Grand Bassam, near Abidjan, in March that
left 19 people dead.
Abidjan is one of three “reservoirs” of French troops in the world,
along with Djibouti and the United Arab Emirates, providing entry points
to the different regions, Le Drian added.
The forces can be deployed to support French troops engaged in
external operations, such as Operation Barkhane in the Sahel region, or
to intervene in a new crisis.
Last year, the French forces in Ivory Coast took over from Operation
Licorne, which saw several crises in the country, most notably when they
were deployed alongside UN troops in 2011 during unrest sparked by
president Laurent Gbagbo’s refusal to step down after losing an
election.
The French military also trains about 600 Ivorian soldiers each year.
“After the 2011 unrest, rebuilding the Ivorian army is essential to
ensure the stability and prosperity of the country,” Le Drian said.
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